Question & Answers with Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Q: Gurudev, How do I get over my fear of losing a loved one?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Through meditation.

Q: Gurudev, Who are you and what is your mission?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

I will give this question back to you. And that is my mission - to put this question back to you. Who are you? When you ask yourself who you are, the journey has begun. The spiritual journey just begins with these two questions. Asking others is futile. You ask yourself ‘ who am I?’ and ‘what do I want to do in my life?’.

Q: Gurudev, What is the one quality that you need to have to love everyone alike?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

An ease with yourself and everybody, simplicity. When you are open from within, then you can’t but love everyone and everyone can’t but love you. Neither you have a choice nor do they. You have done this as a baby. Do you remember how you were as a baby? Being natural, simple, innocent, without any barrier and free with everybody.

Q: Gurudev, I had an experience of being nobody and I was so happy, but then I started to take on some responsibility and started to feel like I was somebody again — different and special. The ego came up. How can I sustain being nobody at the same time as carry out responsibilities and playing the roles that I have to play?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Never mind. You do something and everyone adores you and says how good a human being you are.

See life from a bigger context. There are six and a half billion people on the planet and they all live for sometime and then everybody dies. People who praise and people who are also praised, both die. The whole universe comes to an end at some point, so renounce it all. So when you see your life from a bigger context, you will see you are everybody.

Q: Gurudev, Does time and mind have any relation?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

You should read the book ‘Celebrating Silence’ or ‘An intimate note to the sincere seeker’.

Q: Gurudev, How to deal with attachment on the spiritual path?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

When you are aware of the attachment, then your behavior will naturally become balanced.

Q: Gurudev, I detest my job which I loved so dearly once. What can I do?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Our likes and dislikes change so often! You like something and then dislike it and so on. Life should not be swayed away by likes and dislikes but well founded on commitment. You need some work to sustain your life. Any job that sustains your life, be committed to it and if you get something better, go for it.

There is nothing like job satisfaction. Every job has some drawbacks. Earn your livelihood and then do seva for satisfaction. That brings you maximum satisfaction. Nothing else can bring you the satisfaction that seva brings.

Q: Gurudev, What is the best thing to do after one recognizes one's mistake?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Recognizing your mistake and going forward is good. There is no point in hiding or justifying. Save the mind. When the mind is established, you can’t do mistakes even if you want. With the knowledge of the self, all negative emotions like fear, anger and sorrow disappear.

Q: Gurudev, How do you live with someone who has a lot of anger?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

Meditation. Learn breathing techniques. You can manifest change.

Q: Gurudev, What is difference between accepting people as they are and labeling them as they are?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar:

You tell me the answer. If you really want an answer then sit and think about it. If in your mind this question has arisen, the answer will also come. You have some notion of acceptance in your mind and some other notion of labeling. That’s why you are using two different words. You won’t ask the difference between ‘Kela’ (banana in Hindi) and ‘Banana’. When we ask the difference we already know what that difference is. You already know in your mind and a little introspection will give you the answer.